Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rifle going back to Winchester / Any advice ?

Time is money.
How much have you spent already?
I'd dump the thing and buy a shooter.
Constantly amazed by folks who are willing to accept sub par manufactuered products out of the box and spend another few hundred in time and effort attempting to run up a down escalator.

Let them keep it and buy a pre 64....for that matter buy a push feed you would be better off..to bad win quality has suffered. They ar not the only ones look at rem and Marlin.....lots of complaints on that side also....

Well I went out and got some Leupold bases and rings. Worked great. It's all leveled up and ready for the range. Now I finally get to start working on reloads for the rifle.

I got the sonofabitches part, something about taking a boat and putting something up someones butt and pulling my head out next time and buying a pre-64. Sounds reasonable

Mostly, I consider factory rifles to be pre-assembled kits. The are little more than suggestions for what the final product appearance may be after all the bugs are worked out. Winchester's M-70 is, and has always been at, or near, the bottom of my list.

My friends and I have had nothing but excellent service from Ruger.

Well I spoke with the service rep from Winchester's website. Real nice guy who actually listened to my issue and was helpful. I explained I was not a gunsmith or even as knowledgeable as some on this website and I needed some experienced help with this rifle.

His first response was to assure me that no matter what was "actually" wrong with the rifle it would be fixed. He then ran me through a course of tech questions and answers right there on the phone to make sure the rifle needed to shipped to him.

After speaking with him I did some simple testing and cleaning and found that Talley rings could be mounted where they do not line up with the bore. I thought that was impossible do to the way they are manufactured.

Long story short after the tuning ideas he gave me and all the work all done the rifle is shooting 1" groups at 100 yards.

I am happy with Winchester.

Well, glad they got it straightened out for you. Enjoy.

Mighty short list, I'm bettin'... Wanna try some 740s, 742s, 710s 750s et al?




Ditto...

Well Redneck you are right and have the experience to back it up. I admittedly do not. There are so many things to evaluate, and I used to think tuning bows was tough work. I thought I had a handle on things but ran up against things I never even heard of.

However the service I got from my Rep here in Oregon was spot on. That impressed me. Maybe I just got lucky but my issues are solved and I am happy. I learned that just because someone says it should work don't always mean it will.

I found that rifles can be finicky. I found that just buying a rifle is only the beginning. Sometimes you get lucky and everything bolts up and shoots well, sometimes it don't.

I starting to find products that "I" know work because I have tested them or fixed and tuned them to work for me. For instance, hard steel barrels need a lot of breaking in. Square is Square. 2" groups at 200 yards is good shooting, good ammo and a fine weapon all combined and not to expect that from a stock rifle and Federal box ammo.

What is an example of a hard steel barrel?

The best explanation I can offer is that the tech told me that some barrels are harder to break in than others. With my already explained lack of experience, I took what he said and did a lot more shooting and cleaning of my rifle.

I found that it did shrink my groups. Considerably. The tech explained that newer rifles have a harder steel and temper than older rifles and that the stainless barrels need some break in to get the best groups.

If he is right or wrong it did not matter to me as the rifle did start shooting better. So I do not feel qualified to give you an example of what you are asking for more than what I have been told and experienced.

All of the little things done the right way and the education I am getting doing them myself has been a real experience. I do have to admit I have had costlier educations that were not as much fun. I have now shot several groups with factory ammo under an inch and a half and some under an inch at a hundred with factory Federal Fusion ammo.

My next adventure is starting to reload. I have all of the RCBS gear to get me going. I have the recommended loading manuals, powder, primers, top notch bullets in the grain I would like to start with, and all I need to do now is set it all up and go at it.

Just so it has been said; I will be using recommended loads out of the Nosler, Hornady, and RCBS manuals.

Thanks for all of the help and I will see ya at the range...

Have fun, its a great ride!

Well, to be honest, I seldom buy factory rifles, except maybe for the action, which I strip and toss the barrel, stock and trigger. Last one was a Remington 783, sort of the new Erector Set of a rifle for curious old guys, held together by Fixodent and titanium hardware, to play with.

Otherwise I purchase bare actions, sometimes Savage Precision Target Actions, sometimes Remington 700's. I never saw any goodness in the Winchester M-70 as an action, either the pre '64 or later. I did build two rifles on the Mark X Mauser action - classical appearance - and good performance. The Serbians have been making Mauser actions for a long time, and they know what they are doing. Take one, or a Siamese Mauser, and stick a side swing safety on the bolt and you have what a Winchester M-70 wanted to be.

Main thing are the barrels. I used Shilen, Criterion, Hart, Brux, Schneider, and a lot of Pac-Nor's, all stainless steel. Now I'm really into Pac-Nor's polygonal rifled barrels. These suckers shoot - I mean really shoot - and they break in easily. Afterwards they clean up with nothing more than patches and some Bore Tech eliminator. So, there you have it.

Next thing is the handloading. It's similar to being a chef, with complex tools, cartridge brass, powders, bullets, primers, and a lot of myths, misconceptions, and plain old bull crap thrown in. You experiment with the recipes, manipulate things just right, and achieve the perfect load. I've been doing it for over fifty years and learn something new every time. Just trying to keep up with new powders is a hobby in itself. Maybe I'll sell it all and take up fishing. May your journey be pleasant and informative, and your decapping pins never break.

Thanks Wrangler

It has been a journey. I am having fun and it seems to last longer than the archery tackle I am used to messing with.